I Can See The Green Light
by GhostlyMayhem
Summary: "You're leaving?" The snail sounded genuinely shocked and, dare Meta Knight say... upset? "...if you stay here, you will die. But if you come with me... I can keep you safe." An AU set during a war at King Dedede's castle. Implied Meta Knight/Escargoon. AU, one-shot.


**...**

**I Can See The Green Light**

**...**

He slammed the door shut and pressed his shell against the wooden frame, trying hard to catch his breath and calm his racing heart. He held his breath as explosions outside rocked the castle on it's foundations, shaking the floor under him until it came to a halt... for the time being.

There weren't many options for Escargoon, in terms of what to do for the time being. The King ordered—no... _asked_—him to stay put in his room. But what more could he do in his room? Sit and wait in hopes that the war will be won? Or sit and wait until his bedroom door is knocked off it's hinges?

He wouldn't take that chance. _If I'm lucky, they won't even bother looking for me here..._ Adrenaline running through his veins, prompting each sudden action, the snail quickly locked the door behind him, cautiously moving to the window on the other side of his room. He didn't bother to take a look at the chaos going on outside of the castle. The screams and war cries and explosions outside were enough to force him not to take notice.

He shut the curtains before he could actually notice what exactly what was going on, but he already knew... He'd already seen it when it all began...

"If I were you, I'd leave this place."

Escargoon gasped, quickly turning to face the owner of the voice—the distinctive spanish accent quickly giving away the identity of who had spoken. Two piercing yellow eyes stared at him from his place across the room. "What are you doing here?"

Meta Knight stepped out from the shadows. "I should be asking you that same question."

"This is my room," Escargoon snapped, irritated at the sudden intrusion of the star warrior. _Why can't I be terrified alone in peace?_ "I have a right to be here."

"I meant why are you still _here,_" Meta Knight explained calmly, stepping closer. "In the castle."

Another explosion rumbled the castle. The snail swallowed down his fear best he could. _They're getting closer..._ "His Majesty—" Escargoon began, but was quickly cut off by the star warrior.

"—Is forcing you to stay here?" Meta Knight sounded strangely..._ angry._ A tone that Escargoon had never heard the star warrior even utter before. "In the middle of this war? A war which he started?"

Something about Meta Knight's accusing tone caused Escargoon to come to the King's defense. "People make mistakes, ya know... He didn't mean for any of this to happen!" The snail's tone became increasingly defensive. "And just for your information, he isn't forcing me to stay here. He wanted me to stay in my room because he wanted me to be safe!"

"And that is what you think?"

"Why wouldn't I think that?" Escargoon glared coldly at the star warrior across the room. "He may not show it often, but his Majesty does care about me!"

Meta Knight's usual presence didn't alter, but his tone surely did. "If he supposedly cared about you, as you so claim, he would have wanted you to leave in case something happens inside the castle. Instead, he wants you to stay because if he dies in the aftermath of what is to come... he doesn't want to die alone. Even if that means having you burn with him."

The castle rumbled again as another explosion roared outside—closer this time. Escargoon cringed involuntarily, instinctively moving away from the covered window. He kept his eyes on the window, as though expecting an explosion to happen right beside the part of the castle where his room was located.

"And something tells me you aren't to willing to die so soon..." Meta Knight added, eyes locked on the frightened snail. The more terrified Escargoon appeared with each explosion—signs of the approaching enemy—the more Meta Knight became determined to persuade the snail to leave. "...Which is why I hid in your room, waiting for you to arrive."

"W-Why would you wait here for someone like me?" Escargoon asked shakily, watching the window with wide eyes. "I'm not that important to you..."

"...Actually... you are." When that didn't cause Escargoon to turn toward him, Meta Knight decided to add in another... more _crucial_ part of what he'd been planning to say. "...which is why I am leaving... and why I am asking you to come with me."

Those last words caused Escargoon to quickly spin around to face the star warrior. "You're leaving?" The snail sounded genuinely shocked and, dare Meta Knight say... _upset?_

"...if you stay here, you will die," Meta Knight responded carefully. "But if you come with me... I can keep you safe." He took a step forward, and Escargoon promptly stepped back.

"Where exactly do you plan on taking us if I went with you?" Escargoon demanded, his tone quickly showing his displeasure. He couldn't exactly be sure—what with all the chaos and stress running through his mind at the moment—why he was angry, or what he was truly angry about: the fact that Meta Knight was leaving, or that Meta Knight wanted him to leave King Dedede behind?

"Somewhere that isn't in ruins," Meta Knight replied. His voice, and his yellow eyes, softened a bit. "...somewhere you can be safe."

The idea of leaving the king behind was almost too difficult to for the snail to perceive... But so was the idea of Meta Knight actually... _leaving._ Possibly for good. "I'll be safe here..." Escargoon mumbled, lowering his previously angered tone to something that sounded vaguely... defeated. Ready to embrace the end. It didn't help that the king's assistant didn't sound to confident that he'd be safe locked in his room. "...His Majesty needs me..."

Meta Knight studied Escargoon carefully, and moved closer in small, subtle footsteps toward the snail he had grown to care for from afar. He'd do anything to get the king's assistant to open and his eyes and leave, to assure Escargoon's personal safety and future happiness somewhere that wouldn't persecute or hurt him any further... away from someone like King Dedede. It never bothered Meta Knight before, how the king exactly treated his assistant, but the war itself had started to open his own eyes, making him realize just how _wrong_ it was... And just how okay Escargoon was with the daily scourge he dealt with.

He'd do anything... yet he could only do so much. He'd beg if he could, but he was never one for begging, nor could he bring himself to do so. If being with King Dedede in such a dire situation gave Escargoon even the slightest of peace and comfort... then maybe... _maybe..._ "Is this what you want? To stay here?"

Escargoon stared at the star warrior, his once hopeful eyes now filled with dread and despair. _I can't... I don't..._ Part of him wanted to stay with King Dedede, even if that meant paying the ultimate price in doing so... but knowing that Meta Knight was leaving, that he may never return... It would be as if a part of his sanctuary—the odd comfort and security he'd grown to feel when the star warrior was around—would be leaving too.

"...I..." the snail almost choked on his answer, knowing the other consequence that would surely come with his decision. "...I... _can't_ leave him..."

Meta Knight kept his yellow eyes fixated on Escargoon. Only whatever deity that existed knew what exactly was going through the star warrior's mind—rage, disappointment, sadness... All that the snail knew was that he couldn't tell at all just by looking at him.

But in one single moment, as another explosion shook the castle, Escargoon noticed a flash of green in Meta Knight's usually yellow eyes. A quick flash of green that faded away. "If that is what you wish..." the star warrior said finally, turning to leave. "I will not stop you..."

Something about the way Meta Knight walked away gave Escargoon a sense of finality—something that filled his chest with a pain he never quite felt before... something that couldn't be explained even if he tried his hardest to figure it out himself.

Meta Knight unlocked and opened the bedroom door. He slammed it shut behind him as he silently left, leaving so many unanswered questions—and Escargoon himself—behind.

_If staying here makes him happy... I won't hold it against him._

* * *

**A/N: Emphasis on AU—this is a random war that's taking place at Dedede's castle, and it's left for you guys to interpret.**

**So yup—I jumped onto the Meta Knight/Escargoon bandwagon. This is inspired by a scene in Game of Thrones, with Sansa and Sandor. If you've seen the show, you probably know which scene I'm referring to. But yeah, I just wanted to write for this pairing so this idea came to mind and I quickly got to writing. :)**

**So yup. If you like this, please review (give me more good feedback, people!), and if you don't like this pairing then just fuck off, don't read and have a nice day :D Okay-dokey?**


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